Anne Sullivan
(1866-1936) was born on April 14, 1866 in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts. Early in
her life she was a resident of the Tewksbury Alms House, now the Tewksbury
Hospital. Anne, who was nearly blind from an untreated eye infection, then
became a student at the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston. The director of
the Institute recommended her to the Keller family as a teacher for the young
deafblind Helen Keller (1880-1968) from Tuscumbia, Alabama.

Anne
Sullivan's strategy was to teach Helen to communicate by spelling words into her
hand. After many unsuccessful attempts Helen finally realized that the motions
Anne made in her hand, while running water over her other hand, meant "water".
This moment of insight is captured in the sculpture.

Helen went on to
become the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree and became a
prolific author, lecturer and social activist. Anne and Helen became lifelong
companions and collaborators. Their story is recounted in the 1962 Academy Award
winning movie "The Miracle Worker".

The sculpture "Water" is located on
the north side of the town hall in Tewksbury, MA. Both Anne Sullivan and young
Helen Keller are sitting on the ground with their knees upright. Both are
wearing long dresses. Anne's left hand is making the sign for "water" into
Helen's right hand while Helen faces the sky.

"Water" is the creation of
the Romanian-American sculptor Mico Kaufman. The rough bronze sculpture is 44"
high by 5' 9" long. It rests on a polished granite base which is 1' by 8' 1" in.
by 4' 5". On the base is inscribed: ANNE SULLIVAN, TEACHER AND HELEN KELLER. A
small bronze plaque on the base gives the title "WATER" and the name of the
artist MICO KAUFMAN SC. and the date 1985, the year the sculpture was created
and dedicated.

The sculpture was a gift, from local citizens to the town
of Tewksbury, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the incorporation of the
town in 1764. A nearby plaque is inscribed:

About Me

My interest in travel and exploration took me to all 50 states, much of Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, as well as some of Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico. As I got older my outdoor activities shifted from hiking to orienteering to geocaching to waymarking.